The Shikar Club
[The name of the Shikar Club comes from the Hindi word for hunting reflecting the early link with hunting in the Indian sub-continent.] is an international sporting club founded in London in 1909 by
Old Boys of
Eton and
Rugby to champion the cause of hunting and in particular big game hunting. Its founding members included
Frederick Courtney Selous, P.B. van der Byl and Charles Edward Radclyffe.
Inauguration
On 7 June 1909, at the
Café Royal in London's
Regent Street
Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...
, more than seventy well-known hunting and shooting men met at the inaugural dinner of the Shikar Club. The event was presided over by
the Earl of Lonsdale. ''
The Field'' magazine's June 1909 issue devoted a page and a half to a description of the event. After the meal a committee was formed to write a constitution of the Club at their leisure.
The Shikar Club promoted shooting at international shooting exhibitions with the clear expression of big game hunting within legitimate class and national identities.
Membership
The membership of the club included many high-ranking military men, such as Sir
Claude Champion de Crespigny, described as "one of the hardest and pluckiest men in England… ready to box, ride, walk, run, shoot, fence, sail or swim with anyone over fifty on equal terms".
[J. A. Mangan, ''Reformers, Sport, Modernizers: Middle-Class Revolutionaries'']
The society once championed big-game hunters, including
Abel Chapman,
Alfred Pease,
Hilary Hook, the
Marquess of Valdueza, and Maurice Egerton. Some members, such as
Thomas Alexander Barns
Thomas Alexander Barns FZS FES (4 June 1881 – 4 March 1930), known in his private life as Alexander Barns, was an English businessman, explorer, big game hunter, author, artist, naturalist and lecturer connected with the opening up of Cent ...
,
H. A. Bryden, and
C. W. L. Bulpett, published books and articles on hunting and exploring; while others, such as
John Guille Millais
John Guille Millais ( , also ; 24 March 1865 – 24 March 1931) was a British artist, naturalist, gardener and travel writer who specialised in wildlife and flower portraiture. He travelled extensively around the world in the late Victorian per ...
, were artists or naturalists.
, the Shikar Club continues to exist and meets regularly at the
Savoy Hotel
The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1 ...
, London, for the purposes of continuing the tradition of hunting and shooting. The emphasis today is on sustainable hunting and the conservation of wildlife.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
, was a member until his death in 2021.
References
Notes
{{reflist, group=note
Hunting organizations